Salmon Angling Update

Two Salmon reported from the River Nore

On Monday the 4th April, two salmon were caught and released on the River Nore, one at Brownsbarn and the other at Inistioge in the tidal section near the old weir. Anglers report that some kelts are still being encountered though not as plentiful as last week. Water levels were good. No reports from the River Suir this week.John Flynnjohn.flynn@fisheriesireland.ie
Inland Fisheries Ireland – Clonmel Office

Big Run of spring salmon reported from Blackwater Lodge

Blackwater Lodge

Three springers were caught for February & six for March - including a new Best Fish caught by Pat O'Donovan from Castletownroche just above the Junction Pool with the Awbeg at Bridgetown Abbey beat 20 miles upstream of the Lodge. A superb fresh fish for so far upstream. April has kicked off already with a 7 pounder released by Martin Kiely (Co. Clare) from the Planks on the lowest beat on the Lodge fishery - Ballygally.

There are plenty of reports of good numbers of springers running, and a number of fish in the 20-30 lb class have been seen, but not hooked - yet!
There are also reports of good runs of seatrout going through the tidal reaches. We had another small flood overnight on Saturday which is already starting to fine off down here & which has dropped well off upriver (Kanturk gauge currently not working). The forecast is for a bit more rain for Monday/Tuesday, then mainly dry for the rest of the week.

Prospects: Excellent for the coming days. The river rose but was still within fly height
though the clarity was quite poor today. There is a good head of spring fish present. It is one of the best spring runs for many years.Ian & Glenda PowellBlackwater Lodge & Salmon
Fishery
Upper Ballyduff, Co. Waterford.Tel: 00 353 58 60235
From UK: 0871 474 0135 (10p/min any time!)Mobile: 00 353 87 235 21 20E-mail:info@ireland-salmon-fishing.net Website: www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net

Fishhunt.ie

02/04 River rose about 10 inches and very little colour change but there was a lot of moss going which made fly fishing difficult. There was one Springer reported on my beat above Ballyhooly and that was for over 40 rods out with me today so lets hope that things pick up a bit.Philip MaherFishhunt
Touraneena, Ballinamult, Clonmel, Co.Tipperary, Ireland Tel: + 353 (0)58 47524 Mob: + 353 (0)87 8399345 Web:Fishhunt.ieEmail:philip@fishhunt.ie

1/4/11 Lough Currane was on the wild side with a strong southerly wind blowing across the lake and of as yet no reports of any real rod benders. Amount of rainfall 6.8 mm, max air temperature 12.5˚C.

2/4/11 There was some great manipulation on Lough Currane today, I will start with the fly, in the Mouth of the Commeragh, a Guest fishing with his Gillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy, caught a fine Salmon, and then sportingly handed the Mouth of The Commeragh to Mr. Ken Towner of the UK and his ghillie Mr. Vincent O’Sullivan and of www.vincentsfishing.com and it wasn’t long before Ken had his fly rod bent double into a great fish of 11 lbs and as Ken brought the Salmon in Vincent had one swipe with the net and my Noble Gentlemen the Salmon was dispatched, but the action didn’t stop there, as Ken was admiring his Salmon he asked Vincent if he could hold the boat, Vincent replied its all yours, well I can tell you one thing it wasn’t long before Vincent had a smile on his face, because he caught a cracker of a Salmon of 14 lbs and the biggest caught so far this season, thanks to his Guest/ghillie Mr. Ken Towner. Now to the trolling department Mr Ian Scofield and Mr Richard Haigh of the UK caught a 8 lbs salmon on the troll with their gillie Mr. Sylvester Donnelly of Angler’s rest Amount of rainfall 1.8 mm, max air temperature 12.7˚C.

Photo: Martin Clancy with his 8lb salmon, caught on the troll.

3/4/11 There was a lightening fresh 8 lbs Salmon caught on the troll by Mr. Martin Clancy of Cork, and in the Fly department Mr. Mark Knowles of the UK caught a 9 lbs Salmon with his Gillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy fishing in the Mouth of the Commeragh this evening. Wind SW light with bright sunshine for most of the day. Amount of rainfall 2.9 mm, max air temperature 11.3˚C. That is your ration for this week, from your Gillie/Guide and the Waterville Fishery. No Spin No Fly’s just facts.

Photo: Mr. Mark Knowles of the UK with the first specimen sea trout of 2011 from Lough Currane

4/4/11 Great News the first 6 lbs Specimen Sea Trout was caught on the fly, by Mr. Mark Knowles of the UK fishing with his ghillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy, so congratulations to the both of them because it was hard work out there with a strong SW wind blowing down the lake.

14 salmon on the opening day on the Ballisodare River

The Ballisodare fishery opened to anglers on April 1st, hosting an angling competition sponsored by Douglas Jewellers, Carlow. Excellent sport was had by those attending, with a total of 14 salmon caught throughout the day, a remarkable opening day for any fishery! Winning first prize with the heaviest fish of the day was Sean Gallagher, Sligo who landed a salmon of 8.5 lbs. Second place went to John Connolly, Sligo and third was Thomas O’Donovan, Sligo. All prize monies received by the winners were generously donated to the Children’s Hospital in Dublin.

Two salmon were caught on the second day of angling at Ballisodare, including a 10 lbs salmon for Michael McSweeney, Co. Galway. Sunday also saw great catches at the fishery, with 7 salmon caught, including a fine fish of 12.5 lbs for Dennis Barrett, N.Ireland, and an 8.5 lbs salmon for Joe Power, Co. Louth. Further details on angling at the Ballisodare Fishery are available from Dermot Glennon, Ballisodare Fishing Club on 00353 (0)71 9130513 or 00353 (0)86 2515064. Bryan Ward
IFI-Ballina
.email:bryan.ward@fisheriesireland.ie

Water levels are high on the River Moy with only some fish reported.

Rising water levels have hampered angling efforts on the Moy in recent days. However, the East Mayo Anglers Association water produced two salmon for the week. The first spring fish of the season retained on the Association’s water was caught by Mark Kirwan, Co. Kildare, and weighed 8 lbs. Swinford anger Gerry Hegarty took the second of the week on the Association’s waters, a fine fish of 12.5 lbs. Water levels on the lower Moy are high at present and are expected to rise further in coming days.Bryan Ward
IFI-Ballina
.email:bryan.ward@fisheriesireland.ie

First fish of the season reported from the Newport River.

The first salmon of the season was caught on the Newport River recently. The 8 lbs fish was caught by Mr. B. Birch, Scotland, a first time visitor to Newport House Hotel. For further details on angling on the Newport River, contact Newport House Hotel on 00353 (0) 98 41222 or see www.newporthouse.ieBryan Ward
IFI-Ballina
.email:bryan.ward@fisheriesireland.ie

Gale force winds and high water levels hamper good fishing on Carrowmore Lake and the Owenmore River

Recent weather conditions have seriously hampered angling on Carrowmore, with blustery gales putting anglers off venturing onto the lake. However, J. Cosgrove, Bangor, did have success on the lake on Wednesday; catching a fish of 8 lbs. Due to conditions on the lake it was not fishable for the latter part of the week. The first salmon of the season has been reported on the Owenmore River, where Mervin Corway, Bangor Erris was the lucky angler. The 9.5 lbs salmon was caught using a Willie Gunn tube fly. Bryan Ward
IFI-Ballina
.email:bryan.ward@fisheriesireland.ie

03 April Water levels on the Drowes continued to fall as the week progressed and by Friday the gauge at the Four Masters Bridge was reading only 0.45 metres. There was much needed heavy rain on Friday night however which meant the river rose on Saturday to a nice level of 0.55 metres though the water was somewhat coloured. The river continued to fish well with good numbers of visiting rods in attendance and fair numbers of fresh salmon recorded.

On Monday, there were four salmon landed. Brett McKee recorded a 10lb salmon caught on prawn from the Eel Weir. Bernd Gaab celebrated his birthday by landing a 9lb salmon from Rooney’s Turn caught on the fly. J. Ford accounted for a 6lb fish caught on prawn from the Sea Pools and J. Brown logged a 10lb salmon caught on a Cascade fly from the Island Pool. There was a further salmon recorded on Tuesday caught from the Trout Hole. On Friday, Derek McLoughlin recorded a 10lb salmon caught and released on a fly from the Black hole. On Saturday, James Morrin registered an 8½lb salmon caught on a Cascade fly from Tinkers Hole. On Sunday, Gene Brady accounted for a 10lb salmon caught on shrimp from the Mill Pool.

The forecast is for wet weather for the first half of the week with drier weather to follow for the rest of the week. This should ensure the river has desirable water levels for the week and prospects once again look good for the coming week.Lindsey Clarke
IFI-Ballyshannon.email:lindsey.clarke@fisheriesireland.ie

Lough Melvin

03 April The prevailing weather for the week brought wet and very windy weather for the greater part of the week and it was not until the weekend that conditions moderated. This meant that very few boats ventured out until the weekend and overall it was a quiet week on Lough Melvin. There were a few salmon caught despite the conditions. On Friday, regularly German visiting angler, Joham Peter recorded a fine 11¾lb salmon caught trolling along the Garrison shore on a Yellow Belly Devon Minnow. There were 2 further salmon caught from the southern side and I do not have details of these at present.Lindsey Clarke
IFI-Ballyshannon.email:lindsey.clarke@fisheriesireland.ie

Opening day at the Owenea Fishery

The Owenea Fishery opened for the season on Friday. The first 3 days of the season brought good water levels. On Friday, the gauge read 0.25 metres after a big flood the previous day. Saturday & Sunday gave readings of 0.58 & 0.22 metres respectively. These levels greatly aided the downstream Kelt migration. A few local rods fished on the first day and we have yet to receive our first visiting rod though these are still very early days for the fishery. There have been no salmon caught to date which is unsurprising given the very low angling effort.

For info/bookings etc on the Owenea Fishery –
Tel: 074 9551141. (9am to 1pm April to May & 7am to 1pm June to Sept).

Trout Angling Update

Good trout fishing reported from Lough Lene

Colm Lynch from East Coast Angling reports that things have picked up generally this week with plenty of good reports coming in from all directions. As the duck fly starts on Lough Lene, prospects are good. Colm fished Lene last Thursday in what was very rough conditions and managed to net seven trout all on traditional wet flies Claret Dabbler, Silver Invicta and the likes but Colm thinks that this week no doubt the duck fly will be order of the day.

Angling guide, Marc O'Regan also fished a competition recently on Lough Lene with Tommy Keoghan. The day was predominantly dull with very light winds, becoming flat calm in the evening time. Water clarity was about 20 ft. Marc reports that a lot of anglers fished. Marc and Tommy boated 10 fish on the day the best of which weighed in at 2.3 lbs. If you fancy a day on the water with Marc, he can be contacted on E-mail at cranmor@eircom.net or on mobile at 087 9153002David ByrneIFI – BlackrockCreevy Lake Office Email: david.byrne@fisheriesireland.ie

Nymphs and dry flies producing good trout fishing on the Kell’s Blackwater.

Pat McLoughlin reports that trout fishing on the Kell’s Blackwater continues to produce lots of fish to dryfly and nymph. Jonathan and Stephen O'Brian had over 20 trout each last Saturday morning 2nd April. They both had fish to over 1 lb. Water conditions are good and running clear, medium olives and the odd black midge are of most interest. On another outing with Pat, Gerard Morris hooked and landed a beautiful 6 lb trout on a dead roach when fishing for pike.

Good fly fishing for trout reported from the River Fane.

Matt Campbell reports that the Fane is now very low but has fished well recently despite the fall in water level. Lots of small trout were coming eagerly to olives, march browns and some iron blues. Nothing really big, but lots of fish in the 8 to 10 inch bracket. The largest trout taken recently weighed just over 1 lb. If you fancy a great days trout fishing on the Fane Matt can be contacted at 087 6757550David ByrneIFI – BlackrockCreevy Lake Office Email: david.byrne@fisheriesireland.ie

Good Rainbow Trout fishing at the Curragh Springs Fishery

Photo: Kevin Manning international jockey with his first ever fish caught on a fly rod at Curragh Springs.

Shaun Hegarty reports that it was another good week at Curragh Springs. The wind and rain over the weekend did not put the fish off with many of the over wintered stock and several long term residents i.e. 8 lb plus hooked in the top 2 to 3 feet of water. With the water temperature rising during the past few weeks the fish are becoming more active and starting to take on a faster retrieve on all areas of the lake. Favourite patterns at the moment include the usual lures, Damsel, Dancer, Cat's whisker and nymphs such as Daiwl Back, Hares Ear, Buzzer and Bloodworm. Small dry flies particularly black flies are working well. It is advisable if you are planning a trip to Curragh Springs to bring 8 lb. leader with you as anglers using anything less are getting snapped regularly. The Rainbow are hard fighting and do not surrender easily as many of our guests have remarked.David ByrneIFI – BlackrockCreevy Lake Office Email: david.byrne@fisheriesireland.ie

New angling facilities at Carrivantry Reservoir, Co. Waterford

David Tantrum, secretary of the Waterford City and County Trout Anglers Association sent in this report on the opening of new pier, harbour and extra facilities at Carrigavantry Reservoir on Friday last.

April Fool’s Day saw the opening of the Waterford City and County Trout Anglers Association’s new development at Carrigavantry Reservoir, near Tramore in County Waterford.

This 220,000 euro Waterford Leader co-funded development consists of a new harbour with protective piers. There are moorings for twenty boats including 12 new club boats and 3 boats for hire. In addition there is a surrounding security fence with electronic gate locking worked by mobile phone or a fob. Surveillance is by C.C.T.V. night and day, covering the harbour, car park and surrounds.

Anglers with disabilities are catered for with parking, toilets and a Coulam 16 Wheelyboat with electric engine and its own docking pier, - the first of its kind in Ireland.

The weather made fools of everybody, with rain and a gale force wind. Ray Brett was not daunted and showed how easily and safely the Wheelyboat could be loaded with Donal O’Halloran and John O’Dwyer, both wheelchair users. The Secretary, David Tantrum followed them up the lake to get footage for the RTE Nationwide crew [Brian Walsh and daughter]. On the sheltered west shore boats were able to fish and Donal was the first to catch a fine 3 lb rainbow.

Tony Nolan from the UK with Derek Evans from the Irish Times started to catch fish almost at once. Steve Ducklow from Gararena, and bass-fishing guide Michael McCormack were also into fish. Other boats struggled against the wind with their electric engines flat out. Conditions were rough and everyone was delighted to retire to the food tent and warm up with a steaming bowl of chowder.

After an excellent meal everybody was in good humour for the speeches. The Secretary explained the development, and how it would give everybody excellent fishing in a secure environment. Mr Ray O’Dwyer, the County Manager said the facility was a credit to the club and the whole development should enhance tourism. Denis McCarthy, chairman of Waterford Leader said that this was the kind of project that Leader was proud to fund and these are the facilities that will attract visiting anglers and are an investment in the future. Bob Seward from the Angling Council of Ireland did not realise that such a scenic fishery existed and he would certainly recommend it. Maurice Willis, Chairman of Munster TAFFI said that excellent facilities like these were great places to bring the young anglers. Donal O’Halloran said that this development allowed people with disabilities to go fly-fishing in safety and comfort.

The guest of honour, Suzanne Campion, of Inland Fisheries Ireland congratulated the club and said that the development was what was needed in the future and that Inland Fisheries Ireland would be delighted to support similar adventures. A plaque was then unveiled to conclude a stormy but highly successful day. (See photo)

Peter Gleeson’s weekly column covering fishing in the Lough Derg area

Peter Gleeson, Nenagh Guardian reports that trolling for wild brown trout on Lough Derg in the spring time of the year can be a very effective method of capturing fish. Clubs around the lake have been reporting bumper catches since their trolling competitions began at the start of the trout fishing season in mid-March. At this time of year the fish are very hungry and need to put on condition after the efforts of spawning. They are wont to snap at the baits presented by anglers.

To their credit, the vast majority of club anglers on the lake release undersized fish to protect stocks. Which brings me to Lough Sheelin in Co Cavan. Sheelin is a much smaller lake but has suffered the same, if not a far worse fate, than Derg in recent years due to similar problems of eutrophication and the arrival of invasive species like the zebra mussel. But late last month Dr Martin O’Grady of Inland Fisheries Ireland reported that trout stocks on Sheelin, despite ongoing pollution problems, were now at their highest levels in seventeen years. “The numbers of wild brown trout present in the lake should be sufficient to provide excellent quality angling for the season ahead,” said the IFI.

If we could only say the same for Derg, where the highlight of the angling season – the Mayfly – has been poor over recent years. But what really struck me about Sheelin was the limits put on trolling for trout. The practice is prohibited completely from March 1 to April 30 when the trout are at their most vulnerable. And trolling is also confined to certain strict hours during other times of the trout season. On Sheelin, a three bag limit also applies and anglers can use only one rod. There is also a voluntary scheme encouraging all anglers to return all brown trout caught on the lake between September 30 and the close of the season on October 12. Maybe there are some lessons us anglers here on Derg and on Corrib and Mask and elsewhere could learn from our counterparts on Sheelin in order to boost trout fishing for us all and to increase much needed business for the local angling tourism sector.

Very good trout fishing reported from LOUGH SHEELIN

March 28th to April 3rd Lough Sheelin is fishing exceptionally well at the moment particularly as we are only 4 weeks into the fishing season and in the past Sheelin has had the reputation of a ‘slow starter’ which certainly isn’t the case this year. Thursday saw very wild stormy conditions on the lake but this did not deter anglers and it proved to be the best fishing day of the week with trout of over 5½ lbs being caught, anglers were confined to the bay at Kilnahard and areas down from Watty’s rock. There was a good hatch of buzzer on Friday, hatches being particularly good in sheltered areas like Rusheen and at Derry point. There were good rises of fish and fishing was good in any area where the wind had died down. Most anglers were using traditional wet fly but Friday saw a general change to dry fly fishing which proved to be very successful. 97 catches of trout were recorded with all except unavoidable causalities being released. Some of the best catches were as follows: -

March 29th Michael Kelly, Dublin and Gary McKiernan, Cavan – 9 trout best was 2¾ lbs, 5 out of the 9 were wild fish and in excellent condition.

March 31st Michael Kelly, Dublin despite stormy conditions caught 4 wild trout, the best weight at 2½ lbs. Frank Kelly, Cavan fishing with Frank Stenson, Sligo (originally a Mullingar man) caught 13 fish between them. Due to the inclement weather the two men were confined to the bay at Kilnahard and a stretch of sheltered water down from Watty’s rock. Frank caught 8 fish, 7 of which were wild, best weights were 2 trout @ 5½ lbs, 1 @ 4 lbs and 2 @ 3 lbs, all the fish were in excellent conditions. His fishing companion Frank Stenson landed 5 fish which ranged between 1 and 1 ½ lbs. Fishing was good on the day up to 5.30 pm and after that slackened off.

April 1st Michael Kelly, Dublin – 6 wild trout, all in good condition, best weight was 4 ½ lbs, dry fly fishing, all fish were released.

Good Rainbow Trout fishing at Ballin Lough

Ballin Lough opened on April 1st, and those who fished the opening days, enjoyed great success with six rods accounting for 61 rainbow trout. The average size of rainbow trout caught on Ballin Lough last week was 1.5 lbs. Mattie Foley, Roscommon and boat partner boated 26 rainbows for their session with various Muddlers, the Peter Ross and Bibio proving the most successful flies. Ivan Pollard and boat partner also enjoyed great fishing with 20 trout. Their best flies were the Cat’s Whisker and Black Montana. Finally, Patrick Mangan and boat partner, fishing the Black Pennell and Muddlers, also had good sport with 15 rainbows for their session on the lough. For permits and boat hire on Ballin Lough contact +353 (0)98 26128. Bryan Ward
IFI-Ballina
.email:bryan.ward@fisheriesireland.ie

Some nice trout fishing reported from the Callow Lakes

The Callow lakes, Foxford, County Mayo recently proved to be a productive venue for Michael and Des Doyle. Fishing on both the upper and lower lakes, they caught a 6 trout during a five hour session. The Sooty Olive and Fiery Brown proved to be the most effective flies. For boat hire on the Callow Lakes, contact Tom Deasy on 00353 (0)94 9256266.Bryan Ward
IFI-Ballina
.email:bryan.ward@fisheriesireland.ie

Lough Melvin

03 April The prevailing weather for the week brought wet and very windy weather for the greater part of the week and it was not until the weekend that conditions moderated. This meant that very few boats ventured out until the weekend and overall it was a quiet week on Lough Melvin.
The trout fishing, understandably given the prevailing weather conditions, remained very quiet. The temperatures were somewhat cold and the insect hatches remained sparse. Lindsey Clarke
IFI-Ballyshannon.email:lindsey.clarke@fisheriesireland.ie

Beautiful Spring weather at Cashel Trout Fishery

Excellent spring weather has encouraged anglers to try their skills with us here at Cashel.

Derry’s Paul Temple had an excellent day banking an amazing twenty-two trout, two of which he brought home which weighed 5 lb 11 ozs. Paul was using buzzers and a wee blob. His mate Billy Hazlett also did very well using assorted buzzers catching fifteen beauties with one home for tea which weighed 3 lb 11 oz. Newcomer, Shane Gallagher (Derry) bagged two weighing 3 lb 12 ozs and lost quite a few which fell to Zulus and suspender buzzers. Brendan Breen (Antrim) although he didn’t quite manage to land his trout had an enjoyable day nonetheless. Jimmy Mc Cay (Derry) accompanied by his 9 year old grandson Christopher banked a few trout and lost a few too which took the wee black buzzers. Paul Ford and his son Adrian (Derry) released two trout each which took lime and olive buzzers. Dungiven’s John Hasson used the damsel nymph to bank six lovely trout which he released back into the lake.

Coarse Angling Update

Good Coarse fishing reported from Lough Ramor at Virginia in Co. Cavan

Some nice bags of roach are being taken from Lough Ramor in Co. Cavan with feeder producing good results at a number of locations around the lake. Colm Lynch also reports that a number of nice bream have also been caught recently on Ramor.

Nice catches of silver fish have been reported from the North Monaghan area and the Brothers Lake in Carrickmacross has produced some nice bags of roach recently.
David ByrneIFI – BlackrockCreevy Lake Office Email: david.byrne@fisheriesireland.ie

Gerry McStraw from the Carlow CAC reports that members and non members of the Carlow Coarse Angling Club had a day out on a very scenic lake in Co. Laois last Sunday. The lake is stocked with Skimmer Bream, Perch, Roach, Tench and Carp. Young Thomas Quinlan was first of the mark and landed a stunning Carp on the waggler on his first put in showing the coaches how it is done. He was observed by George Quinlan and Ian Warburton both officially trained Angling Council of Ireland coaches. Throughout the day several species of fish were caught, chairman Gerry McStraw landed five nice Tench and a skimmer Bream whilst John Oxley landed another superb Carp and several Tench. Everyone present on the day caught fish and during the day Ian Warburton surprised everyone with burgers and chips, pictures can be viewed on the popular facebook page Carlow CAC.

The day in general was overall another success for the Carlow C.A.C. with their membership growing daily they are rapidly becoming the most vocal club in the country and indeed probably one of the most active. The club are hosting a day out for disabled anglers on May 12 as part of the Inland Fisheries fish awareness week in Carlow town. This Sunday most of the Carlow C.A.C. match anglers are heading to the Waterford open match Sponsored by Waterways Ireland where a beautiful Waterford Crystal bowl is up for grabs. The match will be fished on the tidal stretch of St. Mullins and always attracts anglers from all over the country, the draw is at 8 am and the fishing commences at 10 am. This will afford the Carlow club an opportunity to show off the five new A.C.I. coaches who will complete the course in Dublin on Saturday.

If any one has any enquiries as regards fishing the River Barrow or indeed the Carlow C.A.C. please do not hesitate to contact me.Gerry McStrawTel: 085 2844566
or visit
St. Fiacc's Tce.
Graiguecullen,
Carlow

Good Roach fishing on the River Suck at Dunamon.

Angler Keith Eager reports on a trip to the River Suck at Dunamon and reminds us all of the importance of not leaving any rubbish behind us.

“Went fishing to Dunamon yesterday (Sunday) had a good net of roach and a couple of nice skimmers total around 15 lbs. The weather was good slight breeze put a nice ripple on the surface. Method, swim feeder with brown crumb and red maggot and sweet corn. Light tackle size 16 hook a bite every time.

I met three nice Romanian lads down there they had picked up 3 bags of rubbish before they started fishing. They were disgusted seeing all this mess around the pegs. I also picked up a whole reel of thrown away line, plus plastic bottles and paper.”Kieth Eager
via email

Bream to 6lb 14oz and roach almost 2lb

Changeable weather patterns over the last 10 days for most part was not conducive to good angling conditions. As a result angling numbers were down on previous weeks. Anglers who reported to IFI, Ballinlough offices, expressed satisfaction with their returns. In fact, Leigh Maitland from the newly formed Ballyhaunis coarse angling club, described his day at Lanesborough on Sunday 3rd April as outstanding. He described the fishing as excellant and beyond belief. The quality of bream and roach in particular was superb. Luigh netted 16.5 kg of mostly bream in four hours. He also had quality roach, to 1lb 14ozs. One angler fishing longside Leigh, had many bream with a best topping the scales at 6lb 14ozs. Some nice tench in the 6lb bracket were also netted by other anglers. All areas of the River Suck are producing very lively roach and hybrid fishing over the past number of days.Alice Murtagh
IFI – Limerick
Suck Valley Email:john.ryan@fisheriesireland.ie

Roach to almost 2lb and tench to 3.5lb at Lanesborough

Paul Waghorn is over from England and reporting daily from Lanesborough.Paul Waghorn, the intrepid angler, reporter and great blogger is back over for his annual couple of months regularly fishing and reporting daily on all fishy matters around Lanesborough area in Co. Longford.
Excerpts from his blog on the website are here but you can logon to his daily updated blog containing lovely pictures on the Lanesborough angling website at: http://www.lanesboroughangling.ie/

Tuesday 29th March - Are you sitting comfortably, - Then we shall begin. Today sees the, my first leg of my spring campaign after what has been the hardest winter since 1963. Surprisingly, it was the mildest February since 2003 and although we still have two day of March remaining, I'm convinced the statistics will prove that March is probably the warmest since records began. So how did that effect nature? Only time will tell if there was to be any lasting damage. At home during the final days before my journey, I counted hundreds of bees, two ladybirds and an ants nest in my front garden. Birdlife didn't seem to change. The kingfishers, whose numbers apparently drop during extreme conditions, have been very active, whilst the early summer migrants all arrived at or around the usual time.
On my journey to Holyhead from Kent, I couldn't help but notice the amount of green on the trees and bushes, but at the same time there was no rape seed flowering. Whether this was because the crop took a bashing from the conditions or it's just late, I don't know.
That's enough of nature for the moment, I should get on to what you have probably logged on for, fishing news. Some anglers have tried the stretch in the last two weeks and have no success whatsoever. On Sunday, the first reports of significance were caught by Chris Ganley. Although unweighed, the photo of two Roach would suggest they were close to 2 lbs. On Monday Leigh Maitland had a bag made up almost exclusively of Rudd to 8 oz.
At 07.52, I arrived to find the levels alarmingly low. For reference, I use the concrete on the lower level near the bridge so everyone can relate to the height. It was about 6" below, so the river had very little flow. I headed for the gusher at around midday and had quite a few Roach and Perch, almost all were around the 4 oz mark. When moving to below Ryan’s gate, I found the Rudd, losing a whopper at the net before having many of 8 oz or so. My short session ended at 2 pm when I had a Pike in my swim. Needless to say, when I returned at 4 pm armed with the heavy gear, I was unable to tempt it.
The evening session itself was, for me hard. I was suffering from fatigue and was completely trounced by Andy Burnett who caught nearly 20 lb of mainly Roach up to 1 lb 6 oz or so with a bonus Hybrid close to 3 lb. Altogether, I had nearly 50 fish for the day, so it has been a reasonable start. A lot could change before I go home in May, but I have the consolation of expecting Brighton and Hove Albion to be crowned league 1 champions very soon after thrashing Dagenham 1-0 tonight. My only other target is to finally get a 2lb Roach from the Shannon. Dream on......

Wednesday 30th March - We were supposed to get some much needed rain today, but it never really started. A group of six fished for most of the day and whilst they all seem to start briskly, the sport gradually deteriorated as the sun came out. There appeared to be a lot of smaller fish though the windy conditions made anything but a feeder difficult. A Roach of around 1 lb 12 oz was claimed but not weighed. The same angler also hooked but lost a "monster" Roach at the net. I dabbled with little success on the gusher, at the bridge and also on the navigation channel.
The evening saw some cloud cover and I was rather hoping for some action, but as with yesterday. I struggled with just a few fish and nothing of note. I must remember, this is still March and not to expect too much.
Check out the 2004 reports to see how bad it really can be! Could be worse though, if I lived near Croydon.....

Thursday 31st March - Today’s report will not be a happy one. An extremely strong westerly wind saw waves over one foot high making conditions impossible along the stretch. because of this I opted out for the duration of the day until 6 pm. The wind had dropped a wee bit, but for the stick float angler is was still very difficult. Despite this, the fish were easy to catch, with a bite a chuck. A few larger fish needed the net but in general they were all in the 1-2 oz range. I had about 20 from Ryan’s gate until deciding to move to the gusher where I lost my first float in Ireland for two years. If anyone finds it, please return to me, its got a red tip.
After setting up again and catching more fish, I returned to my original swim and first cast hooked a very large fish. I almost had it under control until the ducks spooked it. Then when it cruised near the bank it turned and I saw it to be a carp. I was using a size 18 B560 Kamasan hook with two maggots on a 3.6 lb Fox hook length, so there was no way I could bully it. The fish was in total control. I walked downstream with the rod but there were so many ducks that the fish spooked again and took a run towards the middle of the river where we parted company.
As Basil Fawlty once said, - If you don't like duck........

Friday 1st April - A little overnight rain did not dampen my enthusiasm to be up at 06.45 ready for action. The wind was still blowing but the direction had changed to south-westerly and it was already quite warm as dawn broke. The cloud cover suggested a good session but it was 30 minutes before my first bite just below Ryans gate. The resulting 1 oz Rudd was sacrificed and placed midstream above me. When the wind was favourable, I changed from groundbait to loose feed and almost instantly the fish started feeding. There were no big Roach but a Perch of about a pound was more than welcome. It was a bite a chuck for the next 45 minutes with mainly Roach of 2-3 oz along with a hybrid of about 12 oz and a slightly smaller Rudd. I was just about to land a Rudd of possibly a pound when I heard my bait runner going. After swiftly releasing the Rudd, I struck into the Pike which I knew was a 20 as I saw just how long it was. It was 15 minutes before I slipped my net underneath the monster and eventually settled for a weighed of 9.400 kilos which is 20 lb 11.5 oz in old money and a new personal best. After this, I packed in and headed back for breakfast.
In the afternoon I had a sticky session but only caught 30 Roach, mostly at the gusher. Leigh Maitland and Rory Dunne were also present but didn't last too long in the steadily worsening conditions. I couldn't be bothered in the evening and the three pikers were gone by dusk. I expect a full house tomorrow, so anyone wishing to travel, should be there early.

Saturday 2nd April - There was a lot of rain during the night but thankfully it had stopped by the time I was on the bank. The wind had dropped to a minimal as well but there was little surface activity. Already on the stretch were a couple of Kodaks and Seamus Moorhouse who was after some specimen fish. He was rewarded with the first reported Tench of the year at about 3 and a half pounds along with a Bream of 5 lb 5 oz and a number of Hybrids and smaller Bream. My session was a waste of time, with only a handful of tiny Roach and a Rudd of 8 oz. I was surprised to see so few others in attendance. Paul and Daniel shared a bag of 18 lb with 90% of the fish being taken by Paul. The only other angler was Michael Beirne, who at least had the consolation of a superb Roach of 1 lb 14 oz.

This year I have donated another tacky trophy for the largest Roach caught at Lanesborough. The rules are simple, it must be weighed and witnessed on my scales. I'm never far away and my number is 0879419988. In the evening, I travelled to Ballymahon to have a look at the Inny. Back at Lanesborough two anglers were out for a night session, their reports will be published tomorrow.

Sunday 3rd April - I mentioned yesterday that there were two lads doing an overnighter on the hot water pegs, when I visited them just before 11 pm last night, one of them had claimed an estimated 6 lb Bream. They had probably not expected the night to be as cold as it was and were absent at dawn.
A last minute match was planned and the lads that fished suffered with some low returns. The winner had 6.800 kilos and the runner up a shade less. Seamus Moorhouse was out early again and caught three Tench, each around the three and half pound mark. I was out at 07.00 but was so cold I only fished for a few minutes before retiring.
In the evening I went to Roosky but caught just 5 small Roach. The wind being the main reason prohibiting bait presentation. All in all though, a satisfactory end to my first week, but I have major concerns about the number of Roach between 8 to 12 oz that are normally present during this period,- where are they?Paul Waghornhttp://www.lanesboroughangling.ie/

Good Coarse fishing reported from many venues in the Arva, Gowna area.

Local anglers fishing Gulladoo, Hollybank, Kevin’s Shore and Corfree report good bags of fish between 25 and 50 lb. including good Roach, Hybrids and Bream up to 5 and sometimes 7 lb. Deep water Pegs on Lough Gowna fishing very well after pre baiting.Alice Murtagh
IFI – Ballyshannon
Corlesmore Office, Co. Cavan. Email:alice.murtagh@fisheriesireland.ie

Billy Williams wins round two of Waterways Ireland Junior Classic

Photo: Junior Leader James O’Doherty catches a good Roach on the Feeder.

The second match of the Waterways Ireland Junior Classic took place on the River Erne on Sat. 23 young anglers between the ages of 11 and 17 representing 8 schools are fishing the league. The second match was again fished on the Broadmeadow and Derrychara sections of the River in Enniskillen in fair weather conditions.

Individual winner of round two was again Billy Williams (Bellanaleck) who fished the Feeder at Derrychara Peg 12 to win with a small fish catch of 2.450 Kgs. Runner up was James O’Doherty (Erne Anglers) who was drawn on Broadmeadow peg 14, James caught mainly Roach on the Feeder. Third overall was Daniel Wright (Portora) who caught 1.400 Kgs of small fish on the feeder from Derrychara peg 20. Top school team on the day was Portora with 14 points, Erne Integrated and Lisnaskea High School tied for the second week running on 11 points. In the open team category Erne Anglers lead the way with 14 points. The Final match takes place this Sat draw at 9.00 am at the Lakeland Forum with the prize giving after the event.

David Burleigh wins Erne Anglers Float Only final

Photo: David Burleigh with part of his winning catch

The Erne Anglers Float only final took place on Lough Garadice today with the top 18 anglers from the league fishing for prize money of £1,850. Weather conditions were not as kind this week with the strong gusting wind causing problems for the anglers.

Individual winner on the day was Neil Mazurek (Cootehill) who caught steady on the pole all day for 8.500 Kgs on Peg 2. Runner up was Nicky Harrison (Arva) who caught 6.240 Kgs on the Pole and Slider from Peg 18. Joint third were Dave Slater (Enniskillen) Peg 3 and David Burleigh (Kinawley) Peg 7 with 5.950 Kgs.

David Burleigh won the final (£300 and the Bill Clarke Memorial Trophy) on a maximum 12 pts score. Nicky Harrison was second on 11pts beating Dave Slater 11pts on total weight. League organiser and Erne Anglers club Secretary Jack Tisdall thanked all the anglers for taking part in the league. A total of 45 anglers were fishing over the winter and over £5,800 in prize money was paid out. He also thanked Francis and Pauline McGoldrick for the food they provided for the anglers at the prizegiving. The club were delighted that Bert Clarke (Bill’s brother) was on hand to present the trophy in a competition that has now Been running for 21 years.Jack TisdaleCloughballymill Angling Centre
Unit 3, Sligo Road, Enniskillen. BT74 7JY Tel: +44 28 6632 2008Web:www.cloughballymillanglingcentre.com

Pike Angling Update

Good pike fishing from loughs in the Cavan Monaghan areas

Caption: Donal Creamer shows one of the pike taken recently with guide Peadar O'Brien

Well known Monaghan Angling Guide Peadar O'Brien reports from the Cavan/Monaghan area where he has been guiding with Donal Creamer recently. The duo have been catching plenty of pike on all lakes fishing. Most venues are fishing well at the moment plenty of jacks an odd double figure pike being caught. Peadar says that the weather ideal for fishing with the water temp around 9.4.

20lb pike at Lanesborough

Photo: Paul Waghorn with his new personal best pike
- 9.4kg

Friday 1st April - A little overnight rain did not dampen my enthusiasm to be up at 06.45 ready for action. The wind was still blowing but the direction had changed to south-westerly and it was already quite warm as dawn broke. The cloud cover suggested a good session but it was 30 minutes before my first bite just below Ryans gate. I used a 1 oz Rudd deadbait midstream above me. It was a bite a chuck for the next 45 minutes with mainly Roach of 2-3 oz along with a hybrid of about 12 oz and a slightly smaller Rudd. I was just about to land a Rudd of possibly a pound when I heard my bait runner going. After swiftly releasing the Rudd, I struck into the Pike which I knew was a 20 as I saw just how long it was. It was 15 minutes before I slipped my net underneath the monster and eventually settled for a weighed of 9.400 kilos which is 20 lb 11.5 oz in old money and a new personal best. After this, I packed in and headed back for breakfast.
In the afternoon I had a sticky session but only caught 30 Roach, mostly at the gusher. Leigh Maitland and Rory Dunne were also present but didn't last too long in the steadily worsening conditions. I couldn't be bothered in the evening and the three pikers were gone by dusk. I expect a full house tomorrow, so anyone wishing to travel, should be there early.Paul Waghornhttp://www.lanesboroughangling.ie/

Excellent Pike fishing on the Dromore River System near Ballybay.

Photo: David Denis with an 11lb pike

Local angler Ronan Murray caught 12 pike for 44 lbs 4 ozs.
Was Ronan happy ? Well yes and no! It was a great bag yes, but no, it didnt get him into the top 5 today. 65 anglers attended todays Kingspan Qualifier and caught a huge haul of 381 pike to 19 lbs 13 ozs !

Pike were feeding freely all day. In most areas the average size of pike caught was 4 or 5 lbs. Local angler Sean Markey was top angler today with a huge haul of 11 pike for 81 lbs 7 ozs. He had the 19 pounder and even had a pike of around 25 lbs to his hand when it shed the hooks and swam away. I don’t remember a bag that big on a qualifier before. David Dennis was next with 12 pike for 53 lbs 10 ozs. His best pike was 11 lbs.
With so many pike caught working out the results took some time. As usual the proprietors of Lynchs Bar laid on huge quantities of sandwiches.
Debbie was on hand and got scale samples from a couple dozen pike.
The top 5

From the Irish Federation of Pike Angling Club’s website, www.angling-in-ireland.com , the results of the recent Pike Championship qualifier which was held on the Dromore River and loughs near Ballybay last Sunday.

Sea Angling Update

The first Bass report from the North East.

The first reports of bass taken locally in the NE came in on Monday with Rory Coleman from Navan landing a nice fish of about 5 lb on Laytown beach in Co. Meath. The fish was taken on fresh peeler crab and with conditions looking good for Friday and Saturday more are sure to follow Fresh lug and peeler crab available daily at East Coast Angling and a number of other tackle outlets all of which can be found on our listingDavid ByrneIFI – BlackrockCreevy Lake Office Email: david.byrne@fisheriesireland.ie

Wexford bass boat service

The boat will come fully kitted and ready for you with balanced Lure and Fly Tackle choices. On board you will find rods and lures from the brands below plus many other ranges - all ready for you to use

on board inventory includes -

Lucky Craft
Smith
Illex
Yamamoto
Wave Worm

Should you decide to fly fish then rods and lines are also provided in line ranges from #5 to #9 with lines suitable for all depths, presentations and species.

If you want to get away from it all in safety and comfort then dont hesitate to contact me - more details and the final details of the service available later in the year.
A little bit of fishing in your day.Jim HendrickBass Angling Guide
SEAi, 8 St Johns Road, Wexford, Ireland.Telephone: +353 53 9123351E-mail: sportfishing@eircom.netWeb:www.bassfishing.ie

Pollack fishing from Castletownbere - mackerel in the harbour

Last Sunday, I had a lovely group of lads from Newcastle West down for a half day trip, weather was fair, sunny but a little breezy and freshening as the day went on. The Mackerel were very scarce and we decided not to waste any more time trying to find them so we continued out to a fairly large patch of rough ground heading towards the Crow Head and Dursey.

Here we found numerous Pollack and small Coalfish. For the time that we had left, we decided to replicate some drifts across here and the fishing was consistent with Pollack coming up three & four at a time. The Pollack were not large (best about 5-6lb) and the Coalfish were small but they were all stuffed full of Sandeels which bodes very well for the months ahead.

While mackerel were scare on Sunday last month in the middle we were catching our Mackerel for bait right inside the harbour of Castletownbere. And in good numbers too, it did coincide with the larger tank boats unloading their catches and pumping out their tanks. Whatever the cause, we weren't complaining.

We are anticipating some very good general inshore fishing in the next couple of months as the water slowly warms up and the Mackerel arrive in numbers. We are expecting a great year for Cod and Haddock fishing in particular.
If anyone is interested in a trip down our way, give us a shout on 027 74494 or e-mail me.John AnglesTigger Pro-charter Offshore 31. 330 HP
Inches House and Resaurant, Eyeries, Castletownbere, Co. Cork. Tel: +353 (0)27 74494 or +353 (0)86 3983586Email:info@irelandseaangling.com Web:www.irelandseaangling.com

Good deep sea fishing reported from Belmullet

An Gearoidin, a 40 ft Sea Angling Boat, operated by the Broadhaven Bay Hotel, Belmullet, Co. Mayo was put back on the water last week. On its first day out excellent catches of ling, pollack, coalfish, pouting, ballan wrasse and cuckoo wrasse, with the occasional cod and mackerel were reported and all during the two and a half hour session! Skipper Gerry Reilly is optimistic about this year and plans to concentrate on Blue Shark and Tope in both Broadhaven Bay and Blacksod Bay areas this year. The Broadhaven Bay Hotel have special rates for Sea angling, for details visit www.broadhavenbay.com or call 097 20600.Bryan Ward
IFI-Ballina
.email:bryan.ward@fisheriesireland.ie

196 lbs. skate is our Catch of the Week from Red Bay in Co. Antrim.

Photo: Nigel Bell wins Catch of the Week for this huge 196lb skate

Charter skipper Hamish Currie reports on some recent fishing for his clients fishing out from Red Bay in Co. Antrim. Midweek took me to Rotterdam for a few days to see some of the dutch guys receive their specimen awards and of course do the business for 2012 back home on Friday to get the boat ready for the weekend as skate were on the menu and we weren’t disappointed with 9 skate taken in the 2 days dogs doing the damage once again. Congers ,spurs and dogs were taken along with a male fish which coughed up 3 small common skate and that’s why they are the top of the food chain here in the North Channel. Best fish fell to Nigel Bell at 196 lbs which is our Catch of the Week.Hamish Currie Predator II
Red Bay Stormforce 9.1 Rib Web:www.predatorireland.comEmail:info@predatorireland.comTelephone: +44 (0)28 2177 1828 Boat: +44 (0)7720440117